NACS_Virtual_Pre-Solicitation_Conference_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

NNA17554082R

NASA Advanced Computing Services (NACS)

Virtual Pre-Solicitation Conference

Questions and Answers February 15, 2017

Q1. Would NASA be open to accepting NAICS Code 541519, Other Computer Related Services as well?

A1. NAICS Code 541513, Computer Facilities Management Services is the most applicable NAICS for this requirement based on the description of the NAICS code and future requirements to be completed in support of the NACS Statement of Work (SOW).

As indicated by the draft SOW, NACS includes a set of services in support of the NAS facility that is broader than computer related services.

Q2: When will the Pre-Proposal Conference/Industry Day be scheduled?

A2. The Government anticipates the Pre-Proposal Conference/Industry Day will be scheduled for NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) in late February 2017 and for Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in the early March 2017. Refer to Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) for details.

Q3. Will you conduct one-on-one meetings after the Pre-Proposal Conference/Industry Day?

A3. Yes, the Government will conduct one-on-one meetings at ARC after the Pre- Proposal Conference/Industry Day.

Q4. Will there be tours at each Center during the Pre-Proposal Conference/Industry Day?

A4. Yes, there will be a tour of the facilities at ARC during the Pre-Proposal Conference/Industry Day and a tour of the facilities at GSFC.

Q5. When will responses be due after the Issuance of the Request for Proposals?

A5. The final RFP will allow 45 days for preparation and submittal of proposals.

Q6. Since Small Businesses are not required to submit a Small Business subcontracting plan, will a qualified offeror, which qualifies as a small business under NAICS 541513, receive all of the Small Business credit (100 points), or will they be required to submit a Small Businesses Subcontracting Plan and be evaluated on the contents thereof?

A6. Small Businesses are not required to submit Small Business Subcontracting Plan;

however, Small Businesses are required to indicate the amount of effort proposed to be done by a Small Business either at the prime level or at the first tier subcontract level.

All Offerors are required to respond to the Commitment to the Small Business Program.

Q7. Why is the SDVOSB set-aside goal at 1% instead of 3%?

A7. The Small Business Administration (SBA) negotiates with agencies to establish individual agency goals that, in the aggregate, constitute government-wide goals. SBA determines if these individual agency goals, in the aggregate, meet or exceed the government-wide statutorily mandated goals in each small business category.

Appropriate subcontracting goals for an individual acquisition, however, are to be independently determined on the basis of the specific circumstances of the acquisition, consistent with FAR 19.705-4, and not on the basis of an Agencywide or Center goal.

The goals sets were reviewed and approved by ARC Small Business Specialist, Small Business Administration Procurement Center Representative and Headquarters Office of Small Business Programs.

Q8. Are the percentage of goals based on total contract value or the subcontracted amount?

A8. The percentages of goals are based on total contract value.

Q9. Will there be a technical library?

A9. The Government will consider establishing a technical library if necessary.

Q10. Will NASA publish a list of names/organization that will be members of the Source Evaluation Board (SEB) along with the Source Selection Authority (SSA)?

A10. The Government will not publish the names/organizations of the NACS SEB nor

SSA.

Q11. The NACS procurement is to provide the consolidation of requirements which will enhance best value to NASA by reducing transaction costs, ensure a streamlined acquisition, and improve the overall effectiveness of NACS services. Which of the following would this include: (1) HPC environment vendor contract management; (2) ongoing operations and management of the HPC facilities and compute/storage environment; (3) coordination of requests for access to compute, storage and application resources, including SBU tracking and department chargebacks; (4) HPC technical services to work with the NASA team to design and architect robust cost effective alternatives to compute, storage, connectivity and security solutions; and (5) the acquisition of any required compute, storage, connectivity and security solutions to support end user computing services.

A11. The consolidation will improve the overall effectiveness of NACS services through consolidated management and shared practices.

Q12. Can the Government provide the scope of work elements and/or rationale that is driving this significant increase in contract value to $1.1 Billion?

A12. NASA currently operates two major HPC facilities: NAS Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division at ARC in Moffett Field, California and the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) at GSFC in Greenbelt, Maryland. The NACS is consolidation of the ARC and GSFC Advanced Computing Services contracts. NACS may be used to provide advanced computing services to other NASA Centers and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). NACS will use procurements to support the operational HPC capabilities when applicable.

Q13. Will NASA conduct a Best Value award and if so, how would NASA determine best value? In other NASA procurements, we have seen language such as: “The Cost Factor is significantly less important than the combined importance of the Mission Suitability Factor and the Past Performance Factor. As individual Factors, the Cost Factor is less important than the Mission Suitability Factor but more important than the Past Performance Factor.” Would this be in line with the language to be reflected in

NASA NACS?

A13. ARC/GSFC intends to utilize the following three evaluation factors for the NACS Procurement: Mission Suitability, Past Performance and Cost. Mission Suitability is the most important and Cost is more important than Past Performance. Mission Suitability and Past Performance, when combined, are significantly more important than Cost.

Q14. Would NASA allow the use of up to six contracts but allow the flexibility of the Offeror to select the mix of prime and major subcontractors’ relevant past performance?

A14. As a minimum, the Past Performance Proposal shall include the following: For the Prime, a list of not more than three (3) relevant contracts (government and/or industry) each in excess of $25,000,000 total contract value. For each Major Subcontractor, a list of not more than three (3) relevant contracts each in excess of $5,000,000 total contract value. The relevant contracts for the Prime and the Major Subcontractors shall be completed no more than 5 years ago, or currently on-going at least one year, similar in size, content, and complexity to the requirements of the current acquisition.

Refer to the Draft RFP Section L.8(b)(1).

Q15. After adequate recentness and relevancy are demonstrated, would NASA consider assigning a Pass/Fail rating to past performance?

A15. In accordance with NFS 1815.305(a)(2), Past Performance Evaluation, the Past Performance is assigned a level of confidence rating.

Q16. Will the Government provide labor categories and category descriptions in terms of minimum years’ experience, education and HPC experience?

A16. Yes, the Government will provide labor categories and descriptions.

Q17. Would NASA consider providing an expected range for each labor category to ensure like qualified resources are proposed by all bidders?

A17. The Government will review and consider providing a range for each labor category.